The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-11-09
AMONG The ICEBERGS.
BY CAPT. JAKE HAWTHORNE.

BY CAPT. JAKE HAWTHORNE.
Il ON sea tramp" said jeff Tur-
colt, as he squared himself for yarn
in the forecastle of the Mary Malone,
a stanch brig in the China trade out
of Boston.
"Leastways, if there are tramps
ashore there are tramps at sea-chaps
that wouldn't make three wages with
the same timbers under them if YOU
made them present of the ship; be-
cause, why, it gets so blamed monot-
onous, so to speak, and that is the kind
of critter / am.
"Ive sailed north and south, and east
and west, and here and there promis-
cuous to the other p'ints of the COM
pass; but never come so nigh losing
the number of my mess as once in the
Arctic Ocean.
1--WE was in the Cachalot that trip, a
square-rigged ship, owned in New Bed
Sperm is all right, when you can get
enough of it, but that amt always
easy.
$50 our skipper would ruther take a
chance on good right whales, when
they was plenty, than to chase cacha-
lots all over the North Pacific.
so we shipped up through the
straits and got on the grounds early
the first year, and when winter came
we worked down under the lee of an
island, and spent it as well as we
could.
"There amt much fun in it, but what
with cards and sleigh parties after
musk deer, bear hunts, and games, We
managed to put in the winter.
"But 1 tell you L was mighty glad
when the ice broke away, and we saw a
chance to get out of the bay.
"The old man was in hurry. You
see we was nearly full when the ice
drove us into the bay, and he reckoned
we could fill mp in two months, slip
down the coast with the cargo, and get
away in time to be back on the grounds
the same year.
Everything seemed to play right
into his hands, and every day almost,
when the try-pots were not busy, we'd
strike a whale; and twice l knew of
we had three of them alongside, and
the ship smelled like on oil factory.
1--WE didn't seem to mind that, for
old salts get used to these things, and
we was as anxious as any one could be
to get back, because our lay was sure
to be good with such a cargo, and we
counted on big time with the girls
we left behind u.s.
ave had a man aboard we called
Prophet Pete. He was Cape Cod
man, long, lank skeleton, with face
on him that would drive man crazy if
he had any love of the beautiful, SO
cussed homely was he.
"Then he was one of these internal
vision-seeing fools, and kept the men
In hot water with his prophecies.
Whether it was just bull-head luck
or what not, L don't know, but what
ever Prophet Pete Pulver said was sure
to come out true, and the men got so
they believed every word he said. And
80, when he came to me one day, just
before we struck the last whale, L knew
he was coming to me with vision.
I've had revelation, JEFF, he says,
in voice like handsaw going through
a knot.
what's he got to do with the Cacha-
Iot?
You don't understand he whined.
What l want to say is that / have seen
vision.
"Then 1 got mad, and said: And
what L wanter say is, tibet you'll see
more stars and cut more capers than if
you was hit by cyclone, if you come
fooling around here with your visions.
You're Jonah, that's what you are,
Pc &c Pulver.'
But this is important. L never had
such vision before, and / tell you
this, if the Cachalot don't sail within
three days, she will meet with awful
peril. l.
mates, started for that Internal
prophet, and I'd have stove in his fig
ure-head, sure, but he got out of Cali
lee so quick / couldn't reach him.
"But lie ambled round among the
men, and told his yarn until he got
them so worked up that he nigh about
bred mutiny; and lie wouldn't stop
ii, and the mate had to clap the dar-
bies on him, and shove him down in
the brig.
"He didn't seem to care for that,
either, and when they was hauling him
below, he sung out that they'd remem-
Der what he said when trouble came.
Putting him into the hold didn't
seem TO make no difference, for the
thing had got to working among the
men, and they was just as sure we were
going to have trouble az IL an angel had
come down and told them; and they
were ekally certain that the old man
would catch it for putting Prophet
Pete in the brig.
Il didn't say much, mates; but I'm
iIoe II oil IN. e.,
be superstitious, and was uneasy
about the thing.
at got so hot that the old man call